Running in the Dark
by Under the Willow Tree
Summary: When the Joker captures the Young Justice team, he knows that their mentors will do almost anything to save them. As the Joker sends them tapes of their tortured sidekicks, can the Justice League save them before it's to late? Can YJ remain strong?
1. FINALLY

Chapter 1: FINALLY

Wally was practically vibrating with anticipation.

"So we gonna get our mission _now _Bats?"

"Patience is a valuable attribute, which you would take good care to learn Kid Flash," said the Batman with his famous Bat-glare, earning a cackle from Robin in the corner, "Anyway, we have been recently notified of suspicious activity in the old Gotham toy factory. Usually, this is the type of mission that Robin and I would handle, but because of the fact that Young Justice had gone at least two weeks without a mission, the League and I have decided to make an exception."

"About time the League actually gave us a _real _mission," said Superboy after Batman was finished, "Gotham city. Now that's serious."

"This is a simple observation mission. If any of you sense any abnormal or unusual activity, we want you to stand down and contact the Justice League immediately. No combat."

"But what if they engage us in combat first?" asked Robin.

"Evacuate the premises immediately and wait."

"But what if they are going to get away and-"

"ENOUGH ROBIN!"

"Alright, Alright! Fine, no combat!" mumbled Robin, moving aside to sulk.

"Be warned, all of you," Batman said in a serious tone, (which wasn't too hard for him), "The criminals of Gotham are no fools. They will seize at any chances they get, and are not the merciful type,"

"When should we be ready?" asked Kal-dur.

"As soon as possible," and with that, the Dark Knight swept silently out of the room leaving no trace, as if he had never even been there.

"I really hate it when you guys do that," grumbled Wally, his eyes fixed on the spot where Batman had been only a moment before.

"Get ready team," said Kal-dur, "We hit the streets of Gotham in an hour."

**Thanks for reading y'all! This is my first Thanks for reading y'all! This is my first Young Justice Fan- Fic and I love writing it so far! **

**-Under the Willow Tree**


	2. BLACKOUT

Chapter 2: BLACKOUT

The night was young when Meagan's invisible Bi-ship landed on the roof of the abandoned toy factory.

The team perched quietly on the roof, as Robin searched for an entrance. He found a wind, and quickly punched out the glass, allowing the team to slip easily inside. They found themselves in a large storage area, with shelf after shelf of dusty toys around them.

"Creepy much?" asked Kid Flash sarcastically, glaring at a moldy teddy bear.

"It meets all of the guidelines for a standard "criminal clubhouse" that's for sure," agreed Artemis.

"Good old Gotham. Feels good to be back," was all Robin said,

"Let's split up into two's, take a look around. Megan link us up." ordered Aqualad.

"_Sound check?_" came Kid Flash's voice, now echoing through everybody's heads.

"_Good here!_" said Superboy.

"_Yep! We're all linked!_" confirmed Megan.

_"Perfect. Now remember what the League said. If anyone finds anything, report it and the rest of us will be there in a second," _

"_Bah, I will be there in a quarter of a second!_" mentally shouted Kid Flash and everybody winced.

"_Shut up Baywatch!_" shouted Artemis.

"_At least I'm not partnered with you Blondie!_"

"_Stop it you two!_" came Aqualad's deep voice again, "_Also, remember, no combat unless consequences are dire!" _

Robin and Kid Flash crept down the dark hallway.

"Well this is fun, NOT!" muttered an already bored Kid Flash, "Hey do you think Megan likes me?"

"Can your brain process anything besides girls and food?" asked an exasperated Robin.

"Yes, but it chooses to only dwell on the interesting stuff-"

"Hold on a sec," said Robin, pressing his ear to one of the many doors that lined the gloomy hallway.

All was silent.

"Hmmmm….. I swear I heard—"

There was a soft scuffling sound, and something small and flat, was slid out to them from under the door.

Robin instantly gasped aloud.

Just as Kid Flash was leaning forward to see what the object was, he was hit by something hard in the back of his head, from behind. As the world around him faded to black, Wally was left only with a picture in his mind's eye of the small flat object.

It had been a Joker's card.

Megan was now officially creeped out.

"How could humans actually want to play with these things?" she asked in bewilderment, picking up a dejected looking baby doll that was missing an arm and a button eye, "They're sort of depressing if you ask me,"

"I'm the wrong person to be asking," answered Superboy, looking straight ahead, "I had no childhood, remember?"

"Oh, right." Said Meagan, her cheeks turning slightly pink with embarrassment.

They walked in awkward silence between the lines of still conveyor belts, not meeting each other's eyes.

"Wait," Megan said suddenly, closing her eyes and holding up one hand to halt Superboy, "Robin and Kid Flash just broke the link, why would they-"

She let out a piercing scream clutching her head and sinking to the floor.

"Megan! What's wrong?" Superboy yelled, dropping to his knees beside her, not knowing how to stop the unseen force attacking the Martian girl.

"Conner," she said weakly, "Be- Behind you!"

But it was already too late; a needle already was sticking from Superboy's arm.

His eyes widened as he felt the burning being pumped through his veins.

"Kryptonite," he gasped his eyes rolling back into his head.

Megan screamed again as her friend collapsed and a bag was shoved over her head.

Hidden by the shadows, the green haired man smiled.

Artemis's heart sped up in her chest when she heard Miss Martian's blood curtailing scream.

"We have to find them!" she shouted, running from the dark room with Aqualad in close pursuit.

They stopped short as Artemis slipped, falling spread eagle on the floor.

"Are you alright?" whispered Aqualad.

"God, what the-"Artemis began, examining the mystery liquid at her.

With growing dread, she recognized the familiar smell of gasoline.

"Aqualad! We have to get out! It's—"

The powerful explosion through them hard against the rough brick walls.

As Aqualad surrendered to the pounding of his head, he saw the flash of an awful purple suit and a yellow bow tie.

**Tried to make this chapter longer, sorry if some things are unclear, just tell me and I will go back and fix them! Thanks for reading! **

**-Under the Willow Tree**


	3. TRAPPED

Chapter 3: TRAPPED

As Robin awoke, the first thing that noticed was that everything ached.

He opened his eyes, and tenderly touched the back of his head. A large bump had formed there, the result of getting wacked with a wood plank. As his eyes adjusted, he took in the area around him. He came to the conclusion that he was in a jail cell. Thankfully, his mask was still on his face, though the Joker knew better than to leave his utility belt. His knives, ropes, grenades, all gone, just leaving him as nothing but plain Robin.

He felt his was forward, gripping the bars to test them for any signs of weakness. They glowed faintly in the dark, and Robin realized with a sinking heart that they had been painted with kryptonite. Now not even Superboy, the second strongest being alive, could break the bars.

"Ah, crap. Batman is gonna kill me for getting captured again!"

Next to him, a yellow lump moaned on the floor, "I don't wanna get up now Aunt Iris, jus' five more minuets….."

"Kid Flash, wake up! It's me Robin," he snapped his fingers in front of the sleeping speedster's face.

Kid Flash shot straight up like a bullet, "Rob! What happened? Where are we? Are the others-"

"Wow, slow down buddy. We're in some sort of holding cell, but I'm not sure exactly where,"

"It was the Joker right?" said Kid Flash, stumbling to his feet, "Boy, is Daddy- Bats gonna kill you!"

"Don't remind me," groaned Robin, "It'll be no Gotham missions for two weeks, plus no video games!"

Kid Flash's stomach grumbled, and he eagerly unzipped his pocket to find the great amount of…..

Nothing.

"Great, the Joker took my last candy bar! Now that's just plain mean," complained Kid Flash.

They heard another groan, and Artemis lifted her head from the cold stone floor. Her face was covered in ash and soot, but luckily, it looked as if her burns were limited. Eventually, the rest of the team awoke one by one, each sporting minor injuries, but nothing too serious.

"You ok beautiful?" asked Kid Flash, rushing much too eagerly to help Megan from the floor.

"Well, at least we know he's still his annoying, conceded, air-headed self," grunted Artemis, rolling her eyes.

Superboy had recovered from his Kryptonite poisoning with nothing but a headache, but could still not manage to break the cell bars, despite his best attempts.

"It's no use," he said at last, after his fifth try, "These bars are lined with Kryptonite,"

"Does anyone still have any of their communication devices?" asked Aqualad hopefully.

Everyone checked their various bags and pockets, but it was to no avail.

"I don't know what's scarier," said Artemis, "The Joker's purple suit, or the fact that he want's us alive,"

"_The second one by far, pumpkin,_" came a voice from the darkness.

"Harley." ground out Robin, his hands clenching into fists, "You're supposed to still be in prison for thirty more years,"

"Miss me sweetheart?" she asked, her voice sickly sweet, "Now as you may have noticed, Mister J. has generously not killed any of you, so far. You see, he needs you alive,"

"Explained it perfectly, baby!" The Joker stepped out from the shadows, "Now understand this Robbie, the Justice League would never come to join our little party without a little _motivation_,"

"You do throw the best parties puddin'!" chuckled Harley, and the Joker joined her with his crazed, hysterical cackle.

The Joker wore his usual crude purple suit, accompanied by a large daisy on the chest pocket. His greasy green hair hung over his sheet white face, but still revealed the haunting, blood-red smile that stretched almost from ear to ear. At his side, Harley wore her revealing black and red striped bodysuit, her shaggy blonde hair pulled into high pigtails.

"You two won't be laughing so hard when the Justice League beats you to the pulp!"

"A little grumpy are we? Well, that's no fun," said the Joker, his eyes narrowing at Kid Flash, "We'll have to turn that frown upside down!"

**I know, I know. Kinda short, AND it took me forever to update, but the next chapter is longer and will be posted soon! Thanks again for reading! **

**-Under the Willow Tree**


	4. HOPELESS

Chapter 4: HOPELESS

Wally grimaced in pain as the Joker grabbed him by the hair, and dragged him from their dark and dreary cell. Too low on fuel to attempt to escape, he found himself being pushed up a set of stairs, and then a thick iron door slammed shut behind them, muffling the sounds of his friends yelling.

A depressing looking lamp hung from the ceiling, casting light over a metal table. The rest of the room was bare except for a pile of chains that lay in the corner, and a video camera that rested on a tripod.

A set of men, both wearing clown masks, held him down on the hard table as his arms and legs were chained.

"Just thought we would send a message to the Flash," said the Joker switching on the video camera, "Do let him know that his little _wann-be _is doing fine!"

"Cozy little place you got here," said Kid Flash, trying to keep his cool despite the fact that this madman terrified him.

"Do you like it?" Harley picked it out herself! Now then, enough of this boring chit-chat, let's have some real fun!"

"Yeah you would be a horrible realtor anyway," said Wally, trying his best to annoy the Joker, and stall for time.

That comment brought the fist slap.

I stung a bit, but he held his composure.

"That the best you got?" he grunted, and the Joker came at him again, this time with a knife, that glinted in the dim light.

The Joker drew a long gash on his cheek, dripping red onto his originally yellow costume. Kid Flash began to swear as the wound began to instantly scab over. The Joker's almost black eyes widened, until Wally was almost sure they were going to pop out of his head.

"Ooooooh! What's this?" the Joker leaned closer to him with curiosity, "Kiddie Flash has super healing! Oh what fun this shall be!"

He whistled, and his big, looming henchmen sauntered to his side.

"What do you say gentlemen, boys and girls, I think all the running is starting to tire the Kid out? Maybe he needs a _break_," the Joker giggled.

Each of the goons took hold of one of his legs, and Wally swallowed hard, guessing what was coming, and squeezing his eyes shut. There was a sickening snap as his legs, were yanked hard in directions that they shouldn't ever be.

This time, Wally couldn't hold back a scream.

The Joker through his head back with a burst of hysterical laughter, and advanced on him, threateningly holding a baseball bat with a clown on it.

How he was enjoying this. He turned and gave his classic red smile to the camera, knowing that on the other side, the League was watching.

"WALLY!" Artemis yelled, throwing herself against the bars, when she heard the scream.

"Shhhh! You'll give away his identity! Yelling isn't going to help him now!" said the always wise Aqualad.

"Well we can't just sit here and let the Joker torture him!"

"There's nothing else we CAN do," said a defeated looking Robin.

He sat with his back against the grimy wall, his knees pulled up to his chest. He had been silent ever since Kid Flash had been taken, knowing with a feeling of dread, what was in store for his best friend. Now, he just stared blankly at the wall.

Superboy slammed his fist down on the dirty ground, "Mark my words, the Joker is _not _going to get away with this,"

"Don't you guys get it?" Robin said, his voice shaking, "It's over. The Joker has one of us, he's won! Nobody knows where we are, or who took us. We're trapped by the most insane man alive with no means of escaping, and now, Kid Flash is up there suffering for it!"

He was nearly shouting by the end.

"There's always a way Robin, the League will find us," said Megan, walking over to put a comforting hand on Robin's shoulder.

He roughly shook it off, "You don't understand Megan!"

She backed away slowly, looking hurt.

"Hey! Don't talk to her like that! She's just trying to help!" yelled Superboy, jumping to his feet.

"Its fine, Superboy," said Megan quietly, staring at the floor.

"Not it's not _fine_! Do you think the rest of us aren't worried about Kid Flash too Robin? That he's not our friend too? Do you think that we don't already know that the chances of us getting rescued are almost zero, without you restating it?"

Robin remained silent.

"At least _we _haven't given up like you have, Kid Flash never would," Superboy finished, his voice almost a whisper.

Suddenly, there was a THUMP. THUMP. THUMP.

It was the hollow sound of a body, being dragged down the stairs.

**Told you the next chapter would be here soon! I love constructive criticism to make my stories better! (just nothing mean please…) Trying to write longer chapters, but you guys all know as writers how hard it is just to crank out one page! Hope you like it thus far, thanks for reading! **

**-Under the Willow Tree**


	5. DESPERATE

Chapter 5: DESPERATE

Wonder Women's heels echoed in the hallways of the eerily silent Watchtower.

Since Young Justice had gone missing two days ago, the League had been on red alert, scanning for any information on their whereabouts. So far, they had found nothing, and the worry had begun to take its toll on mentors.

Batman hadn't left his computer screen for forty- eight hours, and Aquaman looked as if he had aged years in simply days. Yesterday, Black Canary had actually burst into tears at a meeting, muttering something about how it was "all her fault".

Wonder Women herself, could barely imagine what it must be like to lose your closest partner so suddenly with no explanation.

Diana walked past the Flash and his wife who were sitting together in some plastic chairs. She remembered that his wife's name was Iris, and thought that she looked rather out of place sitting next to the Flash, who was still in his striking red costume. Iris had her arm comfortingly around the hero's shoulders, who sat with his head in his hands.

"Don't worry Barry, we'll find them," she was telling him soothingly.

Diana turned the corner, leaving the depressing scene behind her. She entered the main control room, and too her surprise, Batman was still there, his eyes glued to a computer screen.

"I knew I should have implanted him with a tracking chip," he was muttering to himself.

"Bruce?" asked Diana carefully.

Startled, he whirled around in his chair. Even though his mask prevented her from seeing most of his face, she could still see his blood-shot eyes and lines of worry and exhaustion.

"Any luck yet?"

"No, all of their communication devices seem to have been disabled, and I've watched the toy factory video feeds over and over again, but I still can't figure out what happened to them. Whenever I get close to an answer, it slips away!" he slammed his fist on the key board in frustration.

"Shouldn't you maybe rest for awhile?" she tried again.

"Can't," he ground out the one word, turning back to the blinking blue screen, "I have to find _him_-, I mean them,"

"Stop beating yourself up Bruce, it's not your-"

She was interrupted by a blaring alarm, and the computer monitor began to flash red.

"INCOMING VIDEO MESSAGE" it said.

The Joker's face appeared with a burst of lunatic laughter.

"Get the rest of the League in here now!" said Bruce, cracking his knuckles.

Diana took off, pealing down the hall, as fast as her super-natural abilities would allow her. The Flash arrived first, skidding to a stop besides Batman.

"I would recognize that mad laugh anywhere," he growled.

As soon as the rest of the League had gathered in the spacious control room, Batman pressed the play button on the recording.

"**Hello gentlemen, boys and girls! MISS ME, MISS ME NOW YOU GOTTA KISS ME!**" the Joker chanted, "**Hey Flashie! Are you missing something important?**"

The camera zoomed out, revealing a struggling Kid Flash that was being chained to a metal table. His red hair was ruffled and messy, and his usually bright yellow costume had turned a shade darker with grime.

Barry paled at the sight of his nephew.

The Joker turned back to Kid Flash, "**Just thought we would send a message to Flash, to let him know that his little wanna-be is doing fine**!"

"**Cozy little place you got here**," said Kid Flash, though he was beginning to look a little scared.

"**Do you like it? Harley picked it out herself. Now then, enough of this boring chit-chat, let's have some fun!**"

"**Yeah, you would be a horrible realtor anyway,**"

Despite the seriousness of the situation, Barry chuckled a little bit. That was his typical Kid Flash, never without his sense of humor.

The Joker landed a hard slap against Wally's face.

Kid Flash said something inaudible to the camera, and the Joker seemed to grow even angrier. The madman whipped out a knife and made a gash on the teen's face, letting the blood drip freely.

"**Oooooh! What's this? Kidde Flash has super healing! Oh what fun this shall be indeed! What do you say guys? I think all that running is starting to tire Kidde out, maybe he needs a **_**break**_**,**"

Everyone in the control room winced as they heard the snap and the screams that came after.

Throughout the rest of the morbid tape, even some League members had to leave, unable to watch the revolting torture that the young hero was forced to endure. When the Joker first brought out the baseball bat, Green Lantern looked as if he was going to be sick, and after Wally received his first stab wound, Black Canary began to cry again.

The Flash could only stand there, his mouth hanging open, horrified.

After what seemed like ages, the Joker finally stepped away from the now unconscious and bloody body of Kid Flash, panting hard.

He wiped a bit of blood from his awful purple suit, using a cloth that Harley handed him, and then turned once more towards the camera with a sneer, "**How's he gonna run now, huh Flashie?**"

The Joker's ghost white face leaned closer, "**And remember, **_**that **_**was only round one, unless you tell good old Uncle J. the location of the Watchtower! Ta, Ta, for now!**"

The screen went black.

No one could find anything to say as the Flash sank to his knees.

**In response to some of the requests I have been getting, I wasn't originally planning to actually physically torture the rest of the Young Justice League, just make them mental tortured by the horrible deeds that are done to their team member. I thought I could use this to really show the bond between the team and Wally, but because you guys asked, I might just throw some Robin torture in there. Tell me what you guys think! Thanks!**

**-Under the Willow Tree**

P.S. **This note makes me sound like such a bad person…**


	6. PANICKED

Chapter 6: PANICKED

The THUMP, THUMP, THUMP, of a body being dragged down the stairs.

A limp form was flung roughly into their cell, and Artemis gasped aloud as she recognized the mop of orange hair.

"KID FLASH!" Robin yelled, rushing to his best friend's side.

He felt Kid Flash's wrist, and with some relief he realized that he could feel a faint pulse. His friend was hardly recognizable. His canary yellow suit was covered in dark maroon splotches, and his goggles were cracked and bent. He lay in a broken heap on the floor, out cold.

The rest of the team crowded round, and Aqualad asked, "Robin, what is the extent of his injuries?"

The truth was, all of them were afraid to hear the answer.

Robin knelt down again, and with practiced eye began to access the damage done to the speedster's body.

After a few minutes, he said, "Well guys, its pretty bad- "

"Just tell us," said Artemis hoarsely.

"Both of his legs are broken, as well as a few ribs. His left shoulder is dislocated, and that cut on his face will probably need stitches, but by the pale color of his skin, he's already lost a fair amount of blood. He has two stab wounds, one on his back and one on his arm. Not to mention all the bruises."

"How come his accelerated healing hasn't kicked in at all?" asked Superboy.

"He hasn't eaten in over forty-eight hours I suspect," answered Artemis, "And I don't think he was up there with the Joker having an all-you-can-eat-buffet,"

"Nobody ever thought that the Joker would ever take it this far…." Megan trailed off, speaking aloud the thought that they were all thinking.

"What do you expect? He's a madman," said Robin bitterly, then he turned to Superboy, "It would be best to set his shoulder now, while he's still unconscious. Superboy, help me hold him down,"

Robin got a firm grip on Kid Flash's messed up shoulder, then after a silent count of three, he gave it a shove, hearing the satisfying "_pop!" _as it moved back into place. Kid Flash's eyes shot open and, for a moment in sheer panic, he struggled against Superboy who was holding him to the floor. Then he seemed to see them all for the first time.

"Ro—Rob?"

"Yeah, sorry about that KF. I had to put your shoulder back into place, it was dislocated,"

"Oh," Kid Flash was silent for a moment, and then he whispered, "Hur—hurts,"

"We know Kid Flash, and the Joker's gonna pay later," said Artemis, her voice spiked with venom on the word "pay".

But Kid Flash didn't seem to hear her, and instead he said, "Both of my legs are broken, what if they don't heal? How am I going to be the Flash's sidekick when I can't even walk? How can I do anything?"

His voice was rising and was looking more and more panicked again, trying without success to sit up.

"Kid Flash you have to stay still!" said Superboy, still holding down his thrashing friend.

Robin leaned over to Megan and told her under his breath, "He's freaking out, you have to calm him down before he does something to hurt himself, or goes into shock,"

Megan nodded, and then she closed her eyes and let her mind connect with Wally's.

"_Wally._" She told him sternly through her mind, "_Calm down, everything is fine. You need to just rest,_"

After hearing her words, Kid Flash relaxed, and then seemed to fall into a troubled sleep.

"Wow. What did you do Megan?" asked a shocked Aqualad.

"It's a trick I just learned; I eased his pain a little so he would be able to relax,"

Robin tore of a piece of his long black cape, pressing it to the still bleeding gash on Kid Flash's face.

"This is the best I can do for now, but he needs immediate medical attention,"

"Wait, so does this mean that we're busting out of here?" asked Superboy, looking excited for some action, but lowering his voice.

"If we just had a plan,"

Then Megan suddenly sat up straight, slapping her forehead.

"Uh, Hello Megan! I can't believe I didn't think of this before! You guys, I have a plan,"

** Thanks for all of the great reviews you guys! It's really encouraging, and I will really try to include as many request as I can, but I actually already have my entire story planned out. At this point I am thinking of just making a separate Robin-torture story all together because I have gotten so many requests about Robin angst. Thanks for reading, and I hope you liked it! **

**-Under the Willow Tree**


	7. ESCAPE

Chapter 7: ESCAPE

"Well, go on. What is it?" asked Robin, sounding interested for the first time in days.

"I can't _believe _I didn't think of it before! It's simple, I'll morph into the figure of Harley, so that when the guards come to check on us, they think it's her and -"

"And then they'll let you out, and then we'll beat them up right?" said Artemis with a dark smile, cracking her knuckles.

"Right! Superboy, you'll have to carry Kid Flash, because his legs are still broken. Robin, it'll be up to you to locate the nearest escape exit, just do that fade-into-the-darkness thing that you do! The rest of us, let's just focus on getting spotted by the least amount of people. The less attention we attract the better,"

"But we will be able to pound on _some_ right?" asked Superboy hopefully.

Megan rolled her eyes, "Yes, you will be able to pound on _some_, but remember, our goal is to escape, not to beat up all the guards, got it?"

Everyone nodded.

"Now to just transform into the wicked witch herself,"

Megan closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She thought of the figure of Harley in her mind's eye, allowing her own body to begin to change. The team watched in amazement as Megan's figure began to twist and contort before their eyes. Her flaming red hair faded to blond, and her skin changed from its normal green, to Harley's sickly white. She grew taller, and her Miss Martian costume transformed into Harley's low-cut, red and black body suit. Megan opened her eyes, and everyone gasped when they saw the now electric blue irises.

"Well, how to I look?" demanded Megan.

It was creepy to see Harley before them, but speaking with Megan's voice.

"Li—Like the totally evil girlfriend of the Joker," responded Artemis, and Megan broke into a huge grin.

"YES! That means it works!" she punched her fist in the air, "I didn't end up with four arms and two heads like I did last time!"

"But you'll have to talk more like Harley, and less like yourself if anybody is going to believe you. Try making your voice a little bit higher, like that annoying tone that she speaks in," suggested Robin.

He fell silent, when they heard the heavy door being opened at the top of the stairs.

Two clown masked guards sauntered into view, both holding suspicious bottles, and laughing much too boisterously. They stopped dead when they saw supposedly their female boss, sitting in the jail cell.

"Uh sir, I mean, ma'am, what are you doing in there?" one of them asked looking confused, and scratching his head.

"Oh, I was just giving these brats the talk they deserve," said Megan in a now perfect imitation of Harley's voice.

She gave Aqualad's cheek a hard slap, just for the effect.

The two guards laughed evilly, and Megan muttered, "Sorry," under her breath to Aqualad.

"Now then, let me out of this god-forsaken cell before I have the Joker rip both of your faces off," she said sweetly, and the two guards rushed over looking frightened, tripping over each other to unlock the cell door.

Instantly Megan nailed a hard round-house kick hard in the top of the first guard's throat. His eyes bugged out of his head, and he fell to the ground clutching his neck. Superboy, his strength now returned, picked both of the surprised guards up by their shirts, and then threw them hard against the wall. After that, neither of them moved from their slumped position on the floor.

"Nice job," Robin told Megan as he charged past her, "If the whole hero thing hadn't worked out, you could have been an actress,"

Megan smiled, and then with confusion she asked, "Wait, what's an actress?"

Superboy bent down and gently picked up the still sleeping Kid Flash, trying his best no to jostle him.

"Everybody ready?" asked Aqualad, and the team nodded looking determined, "Then as Kid Flash would say, let's blow this hotdog stand!"

They rushed up the stairs, and found themselves is a dark room with a single lamp hanging from the ceiling. A disregarded pile of chains lay across a tough metal table, which was stained with sick splotches of red.

"Wally," Robin breathed, and the rest of the team stopped for a second to look around in horror at the place where the Joker had tortured their friend.

They continued into the narrow hallway, and began to run, frantically searching for any method of escape or communication. They ran into a couple of guards, and Artemis and Aqualad quickly disposed of them.

"Look!" Robin shouted pointing to sign that said "ROOF" in large black letters.

They hurried to the top of the long flight of stairs, throwing open the door to the outside world, to find….

Almost a whole army of clown masked men waiting for them.

Bullets began to fly, and Superboy gently set Kid Flash behind a large dumpster , shielding him from further injury.

The team began to fight the incoming fleet of guards, defeating them with ease despite their lack of weapons.

Artemis kicked a man in the head, hearing the satisfying thud as he dropped to the ground. She looked around and saw Superboy and Miss M. fighting back to back, Miss M. lifting people with her mind, while Superboy wailed on them for her.

"_Those two really need to start dating_," she thought absent mindedly to herself.

On her other side, she saw Robin emerge from the shadows, doing a backflip off of the shoulders of an unsuspecting guard and then nailing him with and uppercut punch as he landed flawlessly on his feet. Aqualad however, was beginning to look overwhelmed and Artemis rushed over to give him a hand.

As his next victim fell to the floor, Robin's eyes narrowed as he saw the Joker emerge from the stairwell and begin to creep towards the dumpster where Wally was hidden.

"NOT MY BEST FRIEND YOU CREEP!" he shouted and ran at the Joker full speed, feeling fury pumping through his veins.

He punched the Joker across the jaw, sending the villain spiraling onto the cement. The Joker smiled and laughed, a trickle of blood now trailing from his mouth.

"Awwwwww. How cute! Little Robie came to save his best friend Kiddy!" the Joker made a tsk, tsk noise and shook his head, "But won't this make the Big Bats angry? I mean, does he even _let _you have friends?"

This comment pushed Robin to the edge. Everything Batman had taught him about control and patience vanished like smoke from his mind, and he sprang at the twisted man with an outraged cry, planning to throttle him.

The Joker smiled with pleasure, _this was exactly what he had wanted to happen_.

As Robin sprang into the air, the Joker thrust a long object at him, and Robin felt an electric shock pass like fire through his body. He fell to the ground, his mouth open in a silent scream.

"ROBIN!" Megan screamed, and rushed to her friend who lay crumpled in obvious agony on the floor.

The rest of the team rushed foreword, responding to the Martian girl's panicked cry.

"Oh, don't worry Greenie, his pain will fade, eventually that it is!" the Joker chuckled, but then his expression turned serious, "But if any of you try to fight, I may just have to give him another dose, and maybe one that's not as brief,"

Superboy knelt on one knee next to Megan to tenderly pick up the whimpering member of the Dynamic Duo.

"Gentlemen, escort them back downstairs please. Oh, and clean this garbage up," said the Joker, giving Kid Flash a good kick to the side.

The team hung their heads in utter defeat as they were led back below into the darkness.

**So yeah, I know it took me awhile to update, but my computer died and I lost all of the work I did on this chapter before! Thanks for your patience while I had to rewrite the whole thing, **

**-Under the Willow Tree**


	8. HELPLESS

Chapter 8: HELPLESS

Batman was pacing, again.

It had been a total of a week since Young Justice had gone missing. Three days since they had first received the Joker's disturbing video.

Despite the League's desperate efforts, they had been able to find no trace of the Joker's whereabouts, and the billionaire could only pray that something would be discovered soon.

He flinched and stopped pacing as the Watchtower screen suddenly began to flash red and white, the words INCOMING MESSAGE began glaring out at him.

He jumped hurriedly to his feet, rushing to press the play button, even though he feared what he would see.

This time, there was more than just the Joker's face. It was a transmission from a security camera. After a moment, Bruce realized he was staring at a roof top. Sprawled out on the gravel was an unconscious Kid Flash, and over him stood a protective Robin, who glared angrily at the Joker who stood in front of him.

Bruce could only watch in horror as Dick sprang at the Joker. There was a crack of electricity as his adoptive son dropped like a stone to the ground. The last thing Batman saw before the video flipped off was Dick's agonized face as he thrashed in pain at the Joker's feet.

Bruce Wayne dropped his head into his hands, feeling helpless.

"Oh Dick," he said aloud to himself, "Where are you and what has the Joker done?"

* * *

><p>Superboy punched another fist at the kryptonite laced wall, and winced slightly. He felt completely and utterly useless. What was he without his powers? He remembered the Joker's smiling face as they were led back down into the darkness of who-knows-where, the thought still chilled him to the bone.<p>

_When are things ever going to go right for the good guys for once? _

Artemis and Aqualad sat on the dirty stone floor, Kid Flash in between them both. They each had an arm around either one of his shoulders, trying to keep his shivering form warm. Meagan was hunched over an unconscious Robin, ripping off pieces of her own cape to wrap his burns with.

Nobody said a word.

The minutes ticked by, and Conner was beginning to feel more and more anxious.

_Why hasn't the Justice League attempted a rescue mission by now? Are we really that worthless to them? _

His contemplating was interrupted by the swinging open of the heavy metal door, and the Joker's twisted face emerged from the darkness.

"Hello Kiddies! Sleep well?"

"What do you want Joker?" snarled Superboy, as the figures of Harley and another man also appeared outside their cell.

"Now, now Supey- Doupy, don't go getting your super-panties in a knot, I just wanted to introduce you to our guest!"

As the third figure stepped forward and revealed itself to the team of hero's, Superboy heard Robin growl from his corner, now awake,

"_Scarecrow_. Shouldn't you be in the Gotham City Prison? I mean don't you still have, I don't know, maybe _a lifetime _sentence left to serve?"

Scarecrow smiled evilly, showing off his rows of rotten, yellow teeth.

"In fact, I do Robin, thanks to you and Batman, but let me just say that there are always, ah, _ways_ to break out of that place, if you know the right people,"

Beside him, the Joker winked one eye mischievously.

As usual, the Scarecrow wore a long dark trench coat that reached his knees. A large floppy hat concealed everything but his mouth, but Superboy knew that if he could see the rest of the face, it would be the texture of a flour sack, with only thin white slits for eyes.

"Well, I hope this won't come as too much of a _shock _to you Robbie," the Joker cackled at his own joke, "Because you and I both know that now we've been down that road before, but my buddy Scarecrow here, has a little experiment he would like to try out,"

The Scarecrow pulled a vile and syringe from patchwork coat pocket, making Superboy cringe slightly. He hated needles after living for a year with Camdus.

"Yes, since we last met Robin, I've made some alterations to my fear gas," the Scarecrow explained excitedly, "Unfortunately though. I haven't had a chance to turn it into gas form, so an injection will have to do for now. I hope you're not too disappointed. Now who would like to volunteer to be my little guinea pig?"

The Joker began waving his arm enthusiastically and jumping up and down, "Oooooh I know! I know! Pick Baby Flash! Pick Baby Flash!"

Kid Flash instantly stiffened against where he was seated on the wall, and Superboy knew that he hated it when people said his name wrong.

"It's _Kid Flash _you moron,"

"I agree Joker," said Scarecrow, gesturing towards Kid Flash, "I've never tested my gases on anyone with super speed before and I should like to observe the result.

"Okey Dokey!" chimed the Joker, "Harley, grab Kiddie for me will you?"

"No." Superboy growled, "Going to stand directly in front of Kid Flash, "We won't let you take him again."

"I don't think you have much choice in the matter," said Harley, showing off her Kryptonite ring that adjourned her finger.

Superboy groaned in response, feeling sick to his stomach. Even being a few feet away from his weakness was painful.

"No." snarled Artemis, now moving to stand where Superboy had previously stood.

"I said _back away_ darling," said Harley calmly, pulling a gun from her jumpsuit and aiming it at Artemis's forehead, "Unless you want more of your teammates to get hurt, I'd move.,"

They had no choice, they were powerless against the Joker and his twisted group.

Harley stocked forward and roughly grabbed Wally by the arm, dragging him outside the sell.

Kid Flash swallowed hard as he saw the syringe filled with a strange green fluid. The Joker leaned over him, yanking back the sleeve of his Kid Flash uniform to reveal the vulnerable human skin beneath.

"Please!" Megan pleaded from the cell, "He's already hurt, I" not sure how much more he can take!"

"Don't worry," assured Scarecrow, who had one knee on Kid Flash's chest to hold him down, "This shouldn't hurt. _Yet._"

The Scarecrow brought the needle down full force, stabbing it into Wally's arm.


	9. FEAR

Chapter 9: FEAR

Nothing happened.

Wally was confused. Wasn't the Scarecrow's fear gas supposed to do something to him? Poison him? Burn up from the inside? Turn him into a giant hamster?

He looked up, puzzled, at the Joker, but the Joker was gone. In his place stood a bloody corpse, a few pieces of flesh still on its body. The corpse grinned evilly at him, blood gushing from its skeleton lips. Wally screamed.

He scrambled away, his lame legs dragging his limp legs behind him, anything to get away from that revolting corpse; and bumped into something cold. He whipped his head around, and found himself face to face with the limp body of the Flash.

"UNCLE BERRY!" Wally screamed tears streaming down his cheeks.

A knife was plunged into the stomach of the older speedster, who lay in a pile of his own blood.

Wally turned away from the body that used to be his uncle, unable to look at it anymore.

* * *

><p>At first, it had appeared that Scarecrow's fear gas had no affect on Wally, but Robin knew otherwise. He knew it had only been a matter of time before the toxin would take effect.<p>

Sure enough, Robin's head snapped up as he heard Kid Flash's scream. The boy wonder could only watch helplessly from their prison as his best friend thrashed in the Joker's grip, staring wide eyed and terrified at everything.

He could feel his heart practically breaking at the sound of the speedster's strangled cry for his uncle. Robin remembered what is was like to be poisoned with fear gas all too well; the visions of his parents falling from their trapezes to a bloody mess at his feet, Batman being killed by the Joker before his very eyes, his friends being tortured, the fear gas showed you everything you feared most.

His friend was grabbed and tossed back into the cell, whimpering and sobbing into his knees. After locking the door, the Joker, Scarecrow, and Harley ascended the stairs one more, their evil laughs in their wake. Satisfaction and pride dotted the Scarecrow's face, as if he had just won the lottery instead of tortured a fifteen year old.

"Kid Flash?" Artemis asked cautiously to her friend who was now rocking back and forth on the floor.

Wally's head snapped up, his eyes slightly wild.

"D-Don't come near me! Please don't hurt me! You already killed Uncle Berry and Robin, and Arte-"

He stopped short swallowing hard, as if he was choking back more tears.

"Please Wally," Artemis whispered, "It's just me, I'm not going to hurt you,"

But Wally began to scream once more, scooting back away from everyone as fast as he could.

"Robin, what do we do?" yelled Superboy, responding to all of the panic in the room.

Robin shook his head, "There's nothing we can do! Meagan put him out!"

Megan nodded her own eyes a bit tearful at the sight of her teammate.

Suddenly, Kid Flash's screaming stopped short, his eyes closing, and his body slipping to the floor. He was now unconscious.

"What did you do that for?" now asked Superboy angrily at Robin.

"We had to put him to sleep," Robin responded, sounding defeated, "There's no other way to postpone the effects of the fear gas,"

"There has to be some sort of antidote!" Artemis pleaded desperately, "He can't live like that forever!"

"I'm afraid there's only one, and it's in the hands of the Scarecrow,"

**Sorry if that chapter was a bit confusing, but I just wanted to get **_**something up**_**. I might go back and rewrite it later…..**


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10: SACRAFICE

Miss Martian couldn't take it any longer.

"We have to except the Joker's offer," she said, her tone sounding uncharacteristically dark.

"No," Aqualad said again, "We don't know the risks, the Joker wants to trick us. By accepting his offer we are just playing into his hands faster. Besides, we already have one teammate down, and another suffering from some possibly serious burns; we can't risk anyone else,"

"But now what do we have to loose!" yelled M'gann, starting to raise her voice in frustration, "We're already the Joker's prisoners, and I can't just sit here anymore and watch Kid Flash either bleed to death or drive himself insane!"

Earlier that day, or what M'gann thought must have been during the day; the Joker had approached them with an offer.

In return for the antidote for the Scarecrow's new fear gas, they must accept his "challenge", which still remained unknown.

Though M'gan had kept him unconscious throughout most of the night, whenever Wally awoke, even if it was only for a few brief minuets, he was still almost unbearable to watch.

He would look around at them for a second with large, green, fearful eyes, then scream or burst into heart- wrenching sobs. She could only imagine what Wally must be seeing; his friends and mentors dying before his very eyes, his worst nightmares coming to life. He was slowly killing himself from the inside out.

She was not the only one though who seemed to be affected by their teammate's obvious pain, Artemis had simply sat with her back against the wall, staring into space with a tortured look, not speaking to even offer her input in their current debate.

When Wally had first awoken, a few hours after M'gann had put him asleep the first time, Robin had tried his best at comfort, but it was to no avail; all the shaking speedster could comprehend was the horrors that his own mind revealed to him. Eventually, M'gann had had to knock him out a second time.

"I agree with M'gann," said Robin, willing to do almost anything to help his best friend.

"So do I," said Superboy.

"And I," added Artemis, finally breaking from her trance.

"Then its decided majority vote," concluded M'gann, "We will accept the Joker's challenge to help Kid Flash,"

"_How fabulous_!"

When the Joker's twisted, high-pitched voice sounded suddenly from behind her, M'gann almost jumped out of her skin.

Superboy reached over to touch her arm comfortingly.

"What do you want us to do Joker, " asked Robin, his voice like stone.

"Ah, Ah, Ah! First I need two volunteers to help me with my little, um, project!"

"I'll do it, " said Robin immediately.

"No, your already injured Robin, and we can't risk your burns progressing to an even more serious condition then they already are," said Aqualad, "I will be excepting the Joker's challenge,"

"Your always sacrificing yourself Aqualad!" exclaimed Artemis jumping to her feet, "You don't always have to be so freak' in noble! Let me go!"

"_Stop fighting everyone! We're getting nowhere with this!" _M'gann's voice echoed loudly through all of their heads, "_Artemis, you need to stay here with Wally, I will go." _

"_And so will I_, " sounded the gruff voice of Superboy.

The couple shared a glance for a moment, some unheard conversation passing between them just through their eyes, before Miss M said, "Alright, we're ready,"

"Oh goody goody!" cried the Joker excitedly, "It's the whole alien family Brady Bunch!"

He led the two outside of the cell, and locked the door. Robin wished to the two good luck under his breath as they walked by.

After ascending the stairs, they first passed Kid Flash's supposed "torture" room; the pile of chains had still not been moved inside. Further down the hallway, to their left, they also saw the steep flights of metal stairs through which they had tried to escape. They came to a huge set of double metal doors, and from inside, one could almost hear a hectic buzzing.

"I have just a few friends over for tea and crumpets, and maybe, let me just say, some possible future clients, and as much as it hurts me to say, they've become a little bored with all of my jokes. So, I promised them some real entertainment! Now, off you go!"

They were shoved through the doors, into what looked like a large arena.

Though M'gann had never seen the outside of it, she knew that this whole building must be pretty big to fit all of this.

She closed her eyes and scanned the area for familiar minds, but could find none besides Conner, Scarecrow and the Joker, the rest were just dark, unknown shadows. There was a click of a light switch being flipped, and as if they were about to perform a circus act, Superboy and Miss Martian were illuminated with a blinding white stage light.

"What do you want us to do for the antidote!" yelled Superboy angrily.

"It's simple really," said the Joker, staring at his fingernails up in the high stands, "I want you to fight each other,"


	11. REMORSE

Chapter 11: REMORSE

They stood there, both equally shocked.

Then, after a moment, Ms. Martian asked, her voice filled with disgust, "What kind of sick thing are you?"

The Joker simply laughed in response, his maniac friends joining in stupidly, "Why Missy, I'm as sick as a puppy, thank you for asking. Now, let's get this show on the road, or else this, might end up in this,"

He dangled the vial that was full of the metallic blue antidote, threateningly over the trash can.

Superboy and Ms. Martian turned slowly to face each other once more, staring into each other's eyes with equal looks of horror and fear about what they had to do.

"I can't hurt you," said M'gann softly, tears starting to stream down her face.

"Yes you can, I'll be fine. This is the only the way we can save Wally"

"And hey," she had started to turn from him before he lightly touched her shoulder, "I'm Mr. Invincable, remember?"

"Maybe on the outside," she whispered, and then walked to the other side of the arena.

The Joker had passed out popcorn to his other observers, who crunched excitedly in their seats. He sat down heavily in his own chair and crossed his legs impatiently.

"Well? Don't just stand there, get on with it!"

M'gann took a deep breath as Superboy lowered himself slowly down into his fighting stance. Her mind switched over into fighting-auto piolet as he rushed torwards her, a reluctant grimace on his face. Her brain responded to the oncoming threat as if by instinct, and in an instant, Superboy was mentally thrown backwards into the air.

He landed heavily on the hard cement floor, and the crowd in the stands cheered.

The Joker however, still looked uninterested.

Fanning himself lazily with the vial, he said in a bored voice, "Now, now you two, I know you can do much better than that. You wouldn't want your mentors to see you fight that pathetically!"

Superboy heaved himself off of the floor, dusting his black t-shirt off. A normal human would have broken almost every bone their body after a fall like that. He lifted his fists again and bounded torwards Ms. Martian, pouncing at her with a super-jump. He was about to reach her, when he felt her conscience clamp down on his mind with an iron grip.

He fought her for a second as she ripped through his mental barriers as if they were made of paper. Though Conner had known that Ms. Matian was powerful, he would have never guessed that she possessed _this _much power. He spared a glance up at her face through the sheen of sweat that had to begin to gather on his own. It was completely blank, devoid of all emotion. Even his young mind knew that she had drawn deep inside herself, the only way that she could ever live with what she had to do.

If they survived this, he was totally going to ask her out.

Then Ms. Martian felt Conner's last wall of mental defence give out. He dropped like a stone from mid-super-jump, clutching his head in agony.

"That's more like it," yelled the Joker in delight, punching his fist into the air, "Oh, the irony!"

The crowd shouted and whistled in approval, making M'gann feel sick to her stomach. Before her, Superboy's body thrashed and contorted on the ground, tortured by some unseen force.

M'gann knew that the unseen force was _her_, and tears began to stream down her face once more.

"I'm so sorry," she whispered as Superboy cried out in pain.

* * *

><p>Though it was unknown to the young hero's, back at Watchtower, the Justice League watched the scene play out before them in stony silence.<p>

Clark Kent rubbed his hands on his knees uncomfortably.

Though he might have not exactly been welcoming to the clone, ok, he _knew _that he hasn't been very excepting in the least, he still would have never whished this type of torture on him.

The hero felt a an overwhelming sense of guilt and remorse come over him.

The clone, no, _Conner_, that was his name, may die before the Leaugue could reach them, and never have even experience a real family, and it was all his fault.

If the kid made it out of this whole thing alive, the first thing that Clark would do would be to introduce him to his grandma. Besides, back on the farm, Mrs. Kent had been dying to meet her recently acquired grandson.


	12. MEMORIES

Chapter 12: MEMORIES

Robin twidled his thumbs anxiously.

It was a habit he had recently developed; maybe from being in so many life threatening situations. I annoyed Batman to wits end, and though Robin had tried to halt the nervous tick multiple times, he always found himself starting up again with one excuse or another.

It had been almost an hour since Superboy and Miss Martian had gone off with the Joker, or so Robin thought. He had no sense of time down in their cell without any views of outside or his utility belt.

Wally lay sleeping between he and Artemis on the grungy cell floor, and had only woken once since Miss Martian had sedated him. The waking had been chaotic for everybody, with Kid Flash yelling at the top of his lungs at imadginary demons, Aqualad attempting to hold him on the ground, and Artemis nearly in tears.

Eventually, Robin, unable to find anyway of calming his friend, had rendered the speedster unconscious by the pressure point on the back of his neck. He hadn't liked to do it, but there had been no other option.

Robin looked over his friend once more, his feelings of helplessness resurfacing.

The speedster's face was tear streaked, and though he was asleep, his eyes twitch constantly beneath his closed lids. Occasionally, he would mutter something incomprehensible like a name or a phrase, or move, causing him to grunt slightly in pain.

Robin could sympathise only to well with what his friend must be going through; he was no stranger to the Scarecrow's fear gas, and knew what a scary place your mind could be when left to it's own devices.

If Batman had not administered the anidote so quickly, Robin might have been forced to watch his parents die before his very eyes at least a hundred more times.

"How long have you known each other?" Artemis asked, looking up from the ground that she had been staring at.

Robin was startled from his thoughts, "Um, four years. Why?"

"Just wondering," Artemis answered, then she said quitetly, "You two just always seemed like such good friends, I figured you must hang out more then just through the Justice League."

"Yeah, Kid and I first met when he was eleven. He had just recently gotten his powers and become the Flash's sidekick, and was even more hyper and talkative then if you can even imagine," Robin chuckled, "He bet me ten bucks if he could hit on Wonder Women, and from then on, we were friends,"

"If Kid Flash wasn't born with his powers, then, how did he get them?"

"Ask him some time. It's and interesting story that involves an eleven year old and some highly toxic, radioactive chemicals,"

"If he's alive to tell it," said Artemis gravely, and the thought made them both fall silent.

"Sorry," Artemis said after a minuet, "It's just hard to remain optimistic when the outlook seems so bleak right now, you know?"

Robin nodded, and they both returned to their slient states of reverie.

Then suddenly, Artemis asked, "Does he know? Your secret identity, I mean,"

Robin looked around for second for any hidden observation cameras and then gave a small nod.

"It's cool that you guys can be so close, and have, I don't know, almost a normal friendship. Sometimes, I feel like my life is so weird, that it makes me become detached from the normal world. Things like high school, and friends, and…" she trailed off.

"You like him, don't you?"

Artemis was caught off guard by the question, "Who?"

Robin gestured to Kid Flash's form on the ground.

"Oh. Him-" she seemed as if she was going to make some witty excuse, but then changed her mind and said simply, "Yes, I like him,"

"Like, as more than a friend?"

Artemis rolled her eyes, "Yes, as more than a friend, but if you say anything, I'll kick your little bat butt from here, all the way to Watchtower, and not even Batman will be able to stop me. Got it?"

Robin simply smiled from under his mask.

Maybe they would survive this after all.


	13. ANTIDOTE

CHAPTER 12: ANTIDOTE

"WHAT DO WE DO?" Artemis cried out in panic as she dodged another punch from Kid Flash's flailing fists.

"He's having another waking nightmare!" shouted Robin in response, "Until M'gann and Superboy return with the fear gas antidote, we just have to wait for it to play itself out!"

"NO DUH! I know that stupid!" Artemis gave her trademark eye roll despite the direness of the situation, "I mean, what do we do NOW?"

Atemis had learned that you could learn a whole lot about a person even while they were asleep. For instance, she now knew that Wally had an extreme fear of librarians.

"Don't eat me! I'll return the books tomorrow! I promise!" Wally had shouted during one occurrence of these visions.

The others could hardly contain themselves from laughing aloud; the idea of the second fastest man alive being afraid of a little old librarian with a DATE DUE stamp was just laughable in itself.

Other times though, Kid Flash was watching the entire Justice League die before his, getting eaten by giant snakes, or even back in the twisted hands of the Joker.

Even with that being said, the most disturbing nightmare to listen to was when Wally imagined he was home with his dad.

"At the first moan of, Dad please don't-" Robin had instantly tensed up; he obviously knew what was coming next in this dream sequence.

"Dad, seriously. You're drunk and should just go to bed- no dad, really I didn't mean it! DAD WAIT PLEASE-"

There had been only a couple screams, and a few tears that rolled down even Artemis's cheeks before Robin had finally knocked out his best friend.

Currently, Wally was dreaming he was trapped in a flaming house—except that there were no doors. His limbs flailed madly about, and he vibrated rapidly on the floor (his only use of Super Speed since his legs were otherwise indisposed), making Artemis's teeth chatter inside her skull. The speedster's eyes were open, but glazed over and with dilated pupils. It was a creepy look when paired with his pasty white skin.

Eventually, as the fear gas began to make the visions worse, and they could hardly retain Wally struggles any longer, Robin pinched the pressure point on the back of Kid's neck, causing his to finally pass into unconsciousness once more.

Robin sat back on his knees, breathing heavily, and wiped some more blood from his gushing nose. In the past few hours, the Boy Wonder had already taken a few punched from his best friend; all unintentional of course; bur one of them still probably breaking his nose.

"Sorry Kid Flash," he said more to himself than anybody else.

The metal door opened and closed with an echoing thud. M'gann and Superboy appeared at the top of the stairs; one of his arms slung over her shoulders for support.

Two greasy looking clowns shoved the two back into the confining cell with the rest of their teammates, before giving two equally ugly sneers and returning back upstairs. After helping Superboy get seated, M'gann buried her face in her hands and slid to the floor herself.

"I told Miss M," said Superboy in the gentlest voice he could manage, "It wasn't your fault. It was my own choice and I chose to take one for the team! I'm fine, see?"

M'gann didn't say a word though, and just continued staring at her feet. Aqualad, Artemis, and Robin exchanged looks. It sounded like whatever had gone down with the Joker upstairs was a pretty delicate subject. They wouldn't ask.

"How's Kid Flash?" asked Superboy.

"No better than when you two left," said Aqualad with a sigh, "as long as the fear gas is still in his system, he continues to experience his nightmare. Did you guys obtain the antidote?"

"The Joker is sending it; he'll keep him promise. We gave him and his friends the show that they wanted,"

Everyone was afraid to ask what Superboy could possibly mean from that statement.

Then, as if on cue, there was the pounding of footsteps on the stairs. A wormy looking man in a white coat become visible, a gun clenched in his right hand a vile in the left.

The antidote was a cloudy blue liquid that had been poured into a vaccine administrator; Robin knew that Wally hated shots, and was grateful that his friend would not be awake to see THAT poked into his skin.

"Here," the man grunted, tossing it at them through the bars.

If Robin's quick reflexes hadn't caused him to dive and catch it just before it hit the ground, the vile would have shattered into one million pieces on the cold stone floor.

The man smiled evilly before turning to trudge back up the stairs.

Robin uncapped the vaccine, exposing the needle to the air.

"Hope this helps Wally," he murmured before plunging it into the speedster's arm.

As if he had received an electric shock, Wally's body jerked, then bright green eyes shot open.


	14. JOLT

CHAPTER 14: JOLT

Wally gasped as the world was spinning in front of him like clothes in a washing machine, making him want to barf.

He blinked a few times, attempting to clear the blurriness from his eyes and the fog around his brain. Five concerned faces came into focus, their eyes plastered to his face like he was some sort of freaky experiment.

"What happened?" he asked slowly, his eyes darting from face to face anxiously.

His voice was hoarse and scratchy; it's usual energetic quality absent. The rest of the team cast glances at one another, not sure exactly how to proceed.

"What do you last remember?" asked Aqualad cautiously, helping his comrade into an upright position.

"I remember the needle, and the Scarecrow's fear gas, and then-" Kidflash trailed off, not wanting to elaborate on the nightmares that had followed.

M'gann leaned forward to give him a hug, causing Artemis to look slightly annoyed on the other side of the circle.

"It's okay buddy," said Superboy, putting a hand on the speedster's shoulder," We're just happy that you up and back with the living again,"

"Then again," added Robin, "You might not be if it weren't for these two. Sounds like they had to go through some pretty bad stuff to get you that antidote,"

He gestured to M'gann and Superboy.

"What do you guys say on earth again?" asked M'gann scratching her chin, "Oh, it was nothing!"

Despite the dire situation, everybody laughed.

"Any signs that the Justice League may be sending backup soon?" asked Wally, suddenly feeling hopeful.

Nobody answered.

_**(Back in the Justice Legue Main Control Room) **_

There was a cold and stony silence in the room.

A long table was set, with Batman positioned at one head, and Superman on the other. The Flash, unable to sit still in the confines of one of the cushy black rolley chairs, (as always), paced back and forth impatiently, and Black Canary had begun to subconsciously wonder how long it would be before he would begin to wear a large gaping hole in the floor. The rest of the Justice League sat around the edges of the stainless steel counter, some twiddling their thumbs or fiddling with their capes. A map of Gotham, and another of the old wear house were spread before them like a puddle, and various red marking adjourned each, making them appear as if a treasure map of sum sorts.

"I feel that I must restate that these are code A missions, and that EVERYONE required to assist in anyway possible, which means-"

"No sleeping on the job," added Superman's gruff voice.

"That's right, we will require all able bodies we can get. The head of Gotham's crime scene, the Joker, is not one to be trifled with and we now have more Intel that he might have joined forces with others such as the Scarecrow,"

Bruce Wayne sighed heavily underneath his thick mask. The Young Justice team had been missing for two weeks now, but finding out that the Joker had captured them hadn't made him feel that much better. It was amazing to him how much lonelier Wayne Manor seemed without his bouncy ward, and even Alfred seemed to be crestfallen, guessing what had happened.

"But that's impossible!" exclaimed the Green Lantern, "I saw that he was locked behind bars with state-of-the-art security myself,"

"Then there must be a leak somewhere," said Wonderwomen calmly, twirling one of her thick, dark, locks around her finger, "He sure won't be the first to escape, or probably the last for that matter,"

"Do you think the mole might be involved?" asked Roy darkly from the corner.

Though the young rouge wasn't directly a member of the Justice League, he still cared about the well being of his former teammates and could be useful in combat, which is why Batman had allowed him to assist in the rescue.

"The mole is not of our concern right now," cut in Batman sternly," We have two, possibly more, dangerous criminals on the loose, along with an underage team that is trapped and being held hostage in the old warehouse on 46th avenue in Gotham. We believe at least one of those teammates to be critically injured, and needs to be evacuated for immediate medical attention,"

Green Lantern rose from his chair, "I'll head out to Arkum right away to make sure nobody else joins the party,"

"And I'll make sure that the press doesn't catch any wind of this," assured the Atom.

"Good," Batman gave a nod of approval to each, "Let's head into the field everybody,"

Robin was awoken from his restless dream by a resounding crash.

He pushed himself off the dank and dirty ground, listening to the sounds above him with a carefully trained ear. There was another thud, and then the shouts of several surprised guards. Guns open fired, and he felt the air suddenly become thick with electricity, as if a thunderstorm had just begun.

The Justice League had come.


End file.
